Little Girls (part one)
by Jicklet
Summary: This has been inspired by Rhi Marzano's Jordan stories. It's mostly about Sara, though a cloned seer and a half-Pemalite child appear as well.


For the last six thousand years or so, there had been a minor ice age on the  
Arn/Hork-Bajir world, leaving only the equatorial areas habitable. But  
nowadays, it has been growing warmer, slowly but steadily. And with each  
year, the Yeerks have been spreading farther north and south, occupying an  
area as soon as they could bear its cold.  
  
It was no different in this valley, south of the new free colony. The warmth  
of the Kandrona was melting the ice and thawing the frozen ground. The small  
creature in the blue egg began to breathe again, after six thousand years.  
  
The free Hork-Bajir didn't wait long with the attack. Seven Yeerks were  
frightened into leaving their hosts. But before that, there had been a  
violent battle. The Dracon beams had reached far, burning away chunks of dirt  
all the way to the edge of the free colony. That was where the Hork-Bajir  
children glimpsed the egg. They decided to dig it out and take it to Tobe.  
  
Tobe was the seer, and her real name was Toby Nikon. Quafijinivon had given  
it to her. Toby for the DNA donor, Nikon for one of his friends.  
Quatzhinnikon was just one of the many Arn killed by Yeerks. They survived  
only in the names of the cloned Hork-Bajir.  
  
Before Quafijinivon died, he tried to teach Toby Nikon as much as he could.  
He taught her some biology and some foreign languages and all the stories  
that Toby Hamee had taught him. And Toby Nikon passed everything on to the  
other Hork-Bajir. But more and more of them were freed, and they usually got  
to know Toby Nikon before they learned the story of her name. So they  
shortened it to Tobe, which still wasn't a very common name, but it turned up  
a few times in the old stories. And, most importantly, the owner of the name  
liked it. She thought it was fitting for her.  
  
Because, after all, Tobe didn't feel she was exactly like Toby. She felt a  
lot more like a little girl than like a seasoned leader. Her brother Jara  
told her she was doing fine, her sister Ket told her she should believe in  
herself. But they didn't convince Tobe. She didn't know how to get her people  
through the war. She didn't even know what to do with a blue egg the size of  
a baby Hork-Bajir.  
  
And it was her job to do something. She was different, and the egg was  
different, and she was the seer and all. But being the seer and all didn't  
make her any smarter. The most she could do was listen to the egg. Now that  
the children were gone, and it was quiet, Tobe could hear some faint sound  
coming from it.  
  
"Father?"  
  
Tobe went from worried to worse. "Child?"  
  
"Father?" the egg's little voice said again.  
  
"Child? I'm not your father, child. I'm Tobe."  
  
"Tobe?"  
  
"Tobe. It's me. I'll take care of you," Tobe swallowed a "somehow".  
  
"Tobe," the egg repeated happily.  
  
"Yes. Now go back to sleep, child. Try to sleep a little, grow a little  
before you hatch."  
  
"Penna."  
  
"Penna? Child? Go back to sleep."  
  
"Penna. Penna-Panna-Ponna."  
  
"Penna? Penna? Is that your name?"  
  
A murmur of agreement came from the egg, then nothing. Penna-Panna-Ponna  
must have taken Tobe's advice and gone back to sleep.  
  
Tobe set it down into a corner of her platform. She sat down right beside  
it, she needed some rest now. Mother Sky, a talking egg. And she couldn't  
watch it all day and night. They'd have to take shifts or something. Mostly  
or something. Tobe had no better idea. She just wasn't ready for talking  
eggs.  
  
  
  
She certainly wasn't ready to see it hatch.  
  
Weeks had passed, and Tobe was getting used to the egg. It was keeping quiet  
now. Tobe could go to sleep without being much more worried than usual.  
  
But there was something crawling on her leg! She reached for the Dracon beam  
they had captured from the Yeerks, then she woke up, then she opened her eyes  
and looked down.  
  
It was too dark to see anything, of course. She stood up to light a candle.  
  
"Tobe? Are you awake?"  
  
The child! The child on her leg! Tobe managed not to scream. She just said,  
"I have to go light a candle. So we can see."  
  
"Then go and make light! I'll get down!" the child said cheerfully. Yes, it  
was the same voice as from the egg. "I know what light is like. Then I see  
blue. Mother said it's blue that I see. And now I'll see what you are like,  
Tobe!"  
  
Tobe wasn't nearly so enthusiastic. She just talked to keep sane. "So you've  
hatched now? Mother Sky, you've hatched? Stay where you are, don't go near  
the edges of the platform! I can't even see you! Wait now, wait, there's our  
candle, there. Come here and hold my leg, like before. It's a good candle,  
we've taken some clay and made little cups and burnt them, now you can make  
fire in them. And I've got one, too, and leaves inside it, now I've got to  
light them with the Dracon beam...I checked it in the evening, and it was on  
lowest setting...if not, we'll never live to know...oh, dear, you must be  
frightened. But it's all right, there, it was on lowest, and we've got light  
now."  
  
Tobe sighed with relief as she held the small cup of fire through a thick  
leaf. But when she held it to shine light on the child, all her hard-won  
relief was gone.  
  
It was so small! Smaller than even the smallest babies of the Hork-Bajir. As  
small as a premature baby. But prematures were usually fine, Tobe thought,  
they just needed a few weeks to put on weight, otherwise they were normal,  
healthy babies...  
  
Except that normal, healthy babies did not hatch from eggs. And even if this  
child was healthy, there was no way it was normal.  
  
Tobe was horrified as she shone the light over its face. It was all covered  
in soft brown hair...around the eyes...on the soft, short beak...on the two  
stumps that must have been its...her horns. Her whole body was like that...  
brown hair...stumps for blades...a thin, weak tail...Tobe touched her and  
felt how soft her skin was. And she was standing awkwardly on all fours.  
  
Wasn't she fully developed yet? But did undeveloped babies have hair? Did  
any kind of cripple? No, the child was no ordinary cripple. A mutant cripple?  
Tobe felt like screaming, but she had to keep calm for the child's sake.  
  
"What's wrong, Tobe?"  
  
"Nothing, nothing's wrong, child. Say, what do you see?" The child had said  
she had seen blue, but what did that mean? You could be nearly blind and  
still see colors. Well, at least she could hear well...  
  
"I see lots and lots of things, but I don't know what they're all called.  
I know you are Tobe, and what you're holding is a candle. And what we are on,  
that's a platform, isn't it?"  
  
Mother Sky, the way she was talking! Better than most grown-up Hork-Bajir,  
even. A seer? Perhaps, but there had to be more than that to it. A seer  
wasn't born with complex speech. Tobe hadn't been, either, she had only  
learned it from Quafijinivon.  
  
"Child, I want to know more about you. Tell me about your parents, if you  
can remember them."  
  
"Yes, I can remember them, a little. They were there and we were talking to  
each other. Father told me stories about this world, and Mother told me about  
the world she came from. That was when it was getting colder and colder every  
day. Then one night, I fell asleep. I remember that I was sleeping, but then  
I don't remember anything, not even sleeping. Then I remember sleeping again,  
and waking up. And I haven't heard my parents ever since. Do you know them,  
Tobe?"  
  
Tobe was shaking violently. Hork-Bajir cry just like humans do, just without  
tears. Tobe lifted the little orphan, and hugged her so she couldn't see  
Tobe's face. "Tell me what your parents are like, child. Do you know their  
names?"  
  
"Mother's name is Katirka. Father's name is Mab Nevet."  
  
Mab Nevet! Oh, Mother Sky, Tobe knew that name. One of the old, old stories  
Toby had taught Quafijinivon...about a seer...who married a Pemalite...and  
they froze to death together...but Tobe didn't know Pemalites laid eggs...  
  
"Oh, child...child..."  
  
"Why do you call me 'child'? I'm Penna."  
  
"Penna? Yes, of course..."  
  
"Mother calls me Penna-Panna-Ponna."  
  
"Child...Penna...your parents aren't here. What you have is me. I'll try to  
take care of you."  
  
"Do you know where they are?"  
  
"Penna...they're dead."  
  
"Dead?"  
  
"Try to go back to sleep. We'll talk in the morning." Tobe blew out the  
candle.  
  
"But Tobe, what do you mean, they're dead?"  
  
Tobe tried to explain what the word meant, and she tried to comfort Penna.  
She was glad Penna hadn't known her parents better, yet she was telling her  
all the stories she knew about them. Penna had a right to know.  
  
  
  
The sun was already rising when Penna fell asleep in Tobe's lap. Tobe wanted  
to sleep, too, but she had to think. What next? She'd have to adopt and raise  
Penna, that was sure. She had already promised Penna, if not in so many  
words. And Tobe was glad to do it.  
  
But what then? Penna probably couldn't even climb trees. She'd have to live  
her life on the ground...Tobe hoped she could at least digest bark like  
everyone else. What did Pemalites eat, anyway? And was it true that they had  
no instinct of self-defense? The valley was surrounded with Yeerks! Tobe  
hoped Penna took after her Hork-Bajir father in this aspect. If not...they'd  
just have to protect her even better.  
  
But what if Pemalites were a short-lived species? What if Penna couldn't  
survive on this planet? What if such a hybrid couldn't survive at all, only  
inside her egg? What if...  
  
"Tobe? What are you thinking about?" Penna had woken up.  
  
"I'm thinking that you should go and show yourself to the others." Tobe  
lifted Penna, put Penna's legs around her chest and Penna's arms around her  
long neck. "Hold me tight, and I'll take you to the Tribe Tree."  
  
Tobe whispered Penna's story to the elders, and soon the whole valley knew  
about the egg's dweller, the daughter of the long-dead Mab Nevet and Katirka.  
Penna instantly made friends with everyone. She learned everything about the  
Hork-Bajir, and everything about the Yeerks, too. No one even thought of  
keeping them a secret from her.  
  
In the evening, she climbed back up to the platform with Tobe. It turned out  
she could actually climb trees, though she was slow and clumsy; she was a lot  
faster on the ground, where she could run on all fours. And she could eat  
bark like the other Hork-Bajir.  
  
This calmed Tobe down, a little. But she still sat up worrying long after  
Penna had gone to sleep.  
  
So Penna could probably survive here. She had an adequate body, she wouldn't  
starve, she wouldn't fall off the trees. But was that all?  
  
No. Penna's survival wasn't all, even her home with Tobe wasn't all. She  
should also have had the heritage of her parents. Both her parents.  
  
Penna could live with his father's people, in the valleys he had lived,  
hearing the same stories about Mother Sky and Father Deep. But what about her  
mother?  
  
Tobe knew about the Howlers, about the Chee and the dogs. She knew that some  
part of the Pemalites still lived. On Earth, far away. Where Penna  
could never see it.  
  
"Yes, she can."  
  
It was an old Hork-Bajir woman speaking. She had just appeared on the  
platform all of a sudden.  
  
"Ellimist?" Tobe asked weakly.  
  
"Yes, it's me. I can take Penna to Earth. She might have a chance to live  
with both her peoples."  
  
But his plan was only to put Penna in a human body, and set her down on  
Earth. She'd have to find her peoples herself. The Ellimist would send a  
friend who could help Penna, but he couldn't help her directly. If he  
broke the rules of the game, so would Crayak, and the damage couldn't be  
undone immediately.  
  
And the rules about knowledge were much stricter than the rules about  
placement. So, if the Ellimist's plan was carried out, Penna could always  
come back to Tobe, and Tobe could always go to her on Earth, but they  
couldn't hear from each other more than once a day.  
  
Tobe wasn't too willing to agree to that plan. She truly didn't believe that  
human kindness would be enough to keep Penna alive, let alone find her  
peoples. She didn't want to send her...send the girl in her care to a planet  
where she wouldn't know anyone.  
  
But Penna woke up to the conversation, and she was thrilled by the thought  
of meeting her mother's friends. She had no doubts that Earth would be a  
safe, happy place for her. She was even sure that, very soon, the whole  
galaxy would become a peaceful place, where she could freely shuttle between  
Earth and the Hork-Bajir planet, every month if she wanted to. Her families  
weren't separated by an asteroid belt! And if Toby Hamee's tribe moved  
back here, anyway...  
  
Tobe didn't want to crush Penna's dreams. And, after all, Penna did have a  
right to meet the Chee. And if what the Ellimist said was true: that the  
moment she was in danger, Penna could fly back into Tobe's arms...  
  
"So will you let me go, Tobe?"  
  
"It's your choice, Penna. I'll miss you, but if you're better off there,  
I'll let you go. I just hope I can see you again."  
  
"I'm sure you will."  
  
"Take good care, Penna," the Ellimist said. "You will have to pretend to be  
a human. You can't tell anyone about your parents, or Tobe, or the other  
Hork-Bajir, or the Yeerks. Because there are Yeerks on Earth, too, but nobody  
knows about them. If they see that you know, they'll take you as well."  
  
"I'll be careful," Penna promised. "But I don't know how to be like a  
human."  
  
"I'll give you that knowledge. Spoken and written language, and some basic  
facts. But beyond that, you'll have to find your way yourself."  
  
"Go, then, Penna," Tobe was crying as she touched her horns to Penna's  
stumps. "And if you don't see me again, try to find Toby Hamee. She'll be  
what I have been to you."  
  
"No, she won't!" Penna exclaimed. "Toby is different from you, and just  
because I'll have her as well as you, it doesn't mean I won't miss you and  
come back!"  
  
"It's so kind of you to say that," Tobe smiled shakily. "Yes, I hope you can  
soon come back. But till then, I'm glad you'll have someone else to take care  
of you. And, Ellimist?" Tobe whispered. "Please make sure nothing happens to  
her."  
  
"Nothing will. I can see this much of the future."  
  
"Then good-bye, Penna."  
  
"Good-bye, Tobe."  
  
  
  
The girl was about elementary school age, but she didn't know her last name  
or her age. She just kept calling herself Penna-Panna-Ponna.  
  
"Anna?" the officer asked.  
  
"Not Anna, Penna!"  
  
So they wrote "Penny" and an age estimation.   
  
Her parents had been dead for a long, long time, she said. She had been  
staying with a girl named Toby, Tobe for short, who was now too far away  
to come get her. And no, Penny didn't know her last name, either. Just  
that she was very far away, no one could find her.  
  
It was strange, because otherwise Penny seemed quite smart for her  
age. She had a large vocabulary, she was good at reading, writing and  
counting. She just knew nothing about her family. So she was temporarily  
put into a children's home, just until her parents or guardians were  
found.  
  
That night, she suddenly felt that Tobe and her tribe were alive and  
well, and that they knew she was alive, well and reassured, too. And it was  
the same way the next night, and the next one, and the one after that.  
  
And Penny's family still hadn't been found. In the meantime, she had to  
go to school. And because the home didn't have its own school, its  
children went to a nearby school along with children from families. If  
Penny went there, she'd need a last name to avoid the questions of other  
kids.  
  
At first they wanted to name her Penny Seaman, because this town lay beside  
the ocean. But she kept saying she was Penna-Panna-Ponna. Finally she agreed  
to be called Penny Penman.  
  
It was a fitting name, because Penny had a good chance to become a writer  
when she grew up. Already she was telling the other kids fantastic stories  
about a jungle with huge trees, about gentle dragons and talking dogs. And  
there was nothing wrong with that, as long as she knew it was just her  
imagination and not reality.  
  
  
  
"Was it your sister I saw you with yesterday?" Tisha asked on the schoolyard  
before classes. "You know, the one with dark hair, who looks like you."  
  
"She's Jordan, the smaller of my big sisters," Sara answered her. "She was  
taking me home after rehearsal, because there were no school buses by then."  
  
"Why have I never seen her around yet? Because your other sister...oh, hi,  
Hildi, Penny, Rita!" Tisha called out to the girls joining her and  
Sara. They had just arrived in the long double line with the other kids  
from the home.  
  
"Yeah, I've already seen Rachel a few times," Hildi continued. "What about  
Jordan?"  
  
"Well, she doesn't go out often, that's true," Sara admitted.  
  
"But what can she do all day?" Rita pressed. "Just stay home and read?"  
  
"Yeah, I guess so," Sara muttered. "It's just the way she is, there's  
nothing wrong with it."  
  
"We don't want to scold Jordan, Sara," Tisha said kindly. "We're just asking  
because we're worried about her. It's not normal to spend all your time  
reading."  
  
"Oh, for Jordan, it's normal," Sara laughed. "Mom says it's just the  
kind of books she reads that aren't normal for a young girl."  
  
"What kind of books?" Rita asked curiously.  
  
"Well, how would I know?" asked Sara. "I bet they'd be even less normal for  
me. That's why Jordan won't let me read them. All I know is that they're  
about the war."  
  
"About the war? And she won't let you read them?" repeated Penny. She had  
only been at the school for a few weeks, and Sara thought she must have  
skipped a grade or two. Why else would she be as smart as a middle-school  
girl, but as playful and naive as a little kid?  
  
"Exactly," Sara answered her. "She says it would just hurt me to read about  
the war. And Mom's totally worried, she doesn't know what's come over  
Jordan."  
  
"Sara, I want to talk to you at lunch," Penny said quietly, her voice  
covered by the first bell. "Just the two of us."  
  
"Sure," Sara replied.  
  
At lunch, she went out to the water fountain with Penny.  
  
"Sara? You were telling me about your sister, about Jordan..." Penny sighed.  
  
"And?" Sara prompted.  
  
"And...I think you shouldn't trust her anymore."  
  
"Not trust her? Why?"  
  
"Well, it's what you said. She's different, not like the others. I'm sure  
she's a very good girl, she just...I guess she can't always make the right  
decisions. It doesn't mean she doesn't love you..."  
  
"Look, I know she's kind of spacey..." Sara sighed, too. Why did Jordan  
always have to embarrass her and Rachel in front of their friends? "That's  
why she never used to baby-sit me. But now, when we're alone together, we  
each take care of ourselves. She doesn't make any decisions for me."  
  
"That's good. But you know what big sisters can be like...Vicky here at  
school has one, and so does Agnes, they've told me. So if Jordan makes any  
suggestions...well, just don't trust her."  
  
"Penny, you don't understand! Jordan's a bookworm and a nerd and she doesn't  
like to play with other kids, but she's not insane!"  
  
"No, I know she's not insane," Penny said quietly. "I know she's smart and  
she loves you and Rachel and your parents..."  
  
"Well, it's mostly just Mom who's around..." Sara tried to put in.  
  
But Penny kept talking, more and more quietly, until her words were a barely  
comprehensible mumble. "It's just that she has a Yeerk in her head."  
  
"A what in her head?" The surprise in Sara's eyes couldn't have been faked.  
"A Yeerk?"  
  
"Yes, a Yeerk," Penny said, still quietly, but clearly now. "It's an alien.  
It controls Jordan. It can read her thoughts, and it can make her act as if it  
weren't there at all..."  
  
"Yes...yes...of course..." Sara whispered politely. She didn't know what the  
children in the home lived like -- especially this poor new girl, who knew  
what she had gone through? No wonder she made up stories like this...  
  
"But, Sara? Make sure you don't tell this to anyone. Not even to your  
parents. Not to Rachel. And never, ever to Jordan. Or you'll be taken by the  
Yeerks as well, and so will everyone else that you have told about this. I'll  
be taken, too."  
  
The fear in Penny's voice was real, not part of the story. What had she gone  
through? Sara felt so sorry for her, just like she felt for Rita and Hildi.  
  
But Penny wasn't just another one of those poor kids from the home. She was  
a little different, yes, probably a grade-skipper. She knew all sorts of  
things before the rest of the class, she must have been reading a lot...a   
bit like Jordan, really. If Jordan had a problem with all her books,  
surely Penny would know?  
  
"Do you promise me, Sara, that you won't tell? Look at my face and promise  
me." Sara had never seen Penny so serious or so scared.  
  
"Yeah, I promise."  



End file.
